Cry, Requiem for a Friendship
by Kmm1128
Summary: Lili sends a desperate transmission to Earth asking for aid to battle a Jaridian revolution forcing her and Da'an to reopen old wounds.
1. Chapter 1

Cry: Requiem for a Friendship

Chapter One: What Emotions Mean to Me

After the group of Taelons joined the resistance, Hubble Urick and Liam Kincaid set their differences aside and started collaborating on an organized effort to resist the priests. They deemed it the Atlantic National Alliance, a coalition of countries much like NATO that served humanity's interests. The lair at St. Michael's remained a base for the resistance, but the headquarters was moved to a corporate building that Urick "donated" to Doors International as a tax write-off. The paper work was so confusing that even Da'an had trouble understanding it, but it had to be that way to ward off any investigators or Taelon sympathizers. Hubble was declared as their ambassador, and Renee and Liam were appointed as officers. In an effort to keep Da'an safe from any backlash, she was not appointed in any official position, but unofficially she was the head of interspecies relations. The resisting Taelons were now her responsibility. Link had not officially joined the ANA because he wanted to finish his work for his clients before he moved his business to DC. However, he and Da'an kept in close contact, and Link helped them whenever he found the time.

For some reason, the priests had not mentally attacked the renegade Taelons, which concerned a lot of people. The ANA was concerned because they feared the priests were biding their time, waiting for the renegades to gain humanity's trust. Da'an was worried that the priests were using a few of them as watchdogs and kept a close eye on all of them. But the actual renegades worried about themselves more than anyone. They feared that sooner or later they would be forced to betray their new leader and wanted to evolve as quickly as they could.

The priests were up to something, everyone knew. However, the ANA had not seen any real activity from the priests in the past month. Lately, it was nothing more than projects and campaigns to rally support. Their biggest supporters came from the Church of the Companions. Reverend Murray had become the latest televangelist, with a record turnout of attendees to his services. The priests fed on this popularity by speaking at his services every now and then to preach the Taelon word to the masses. However, their influence through the Church of the Companions was not enough to rally the amount of masses they wanted. That was mainly the fault of the Vatican, which had denied the spiritual sanctity of the priests. Still, support for the priests was growing, and that was a concern for their enemies.

Link was on his many visits to see Da'an at the lair one day. He found her with Ta'lay and Dr. Curzon fine-tuning her newfound psychic ability by rotating a pencil in midair. Two censors were stuck on her forehead and hooked up to a machine that appeared to be monitoring her neural activity. The two doctors were watching Da'an with great interests. Ta'lay had not removed her glance from Da'an for at least twenty minutes, and Dr. Curzon was writing furiously in her notebook. Link decided not to interrupt them and waited for a few minutes. Ten minutes later, Da'an released the pen from either exhaustion or boredom. Link couldn't really tell.

"That is the best I can do for now," Da'an told them.

"This is incredible!" Ta'lay exclaimed, checking the monitor.

"This is amazing!" Dr. Curzon cried, just as excited.

"This is Mike Wallace, reporting for Sixty Minutes," Link joked.

The three turned towards him and started laughing. Link walked up to Da'an and kissed her.

"How are you, Link?" Da'an said with a smile.

"Good," Link said. "I take it this is bad timing on my part."

"Of course not," Da'an said. "Do not ever let me miss one of your visits. I look forward to them all week."

"Yeah, I wonder how long that's gonna last," Link said to himself.

"And who do we recall started this relationship?"

"I should shut up, shouldn't I?"

"That's preferable—uh, Ta'lay! Do you mind?"

Ta'lay had been scanning Da'an's energy aura throughout Link and Da'an's conversation. "Sorry, Da'an. It's just that…this is remarkable."

"Yeah, while I'm here, why don't you tell me what's goin' on?" Link asked. "I've seen Roswell specials that started like this, and those always end with the damn alien getting cut up."

"We are analyzing Da'an's psychic ability in order to ascertain its source," Ta'lay said.

"From what Ta'lay's told me, all Taelons are inherently psychic, but the Commonality suppresses their gifts in order to fuel itself," Dr. Curzon said. "Well, ever since Da'an has broken away, her psychic abilities have increased dramatically. She can already levitate small objects for thirty minutes straight, and she can teleport about sixty feet."

"You've been experimenting on my girlfriend all afternoon?" Link asked.

"Indeed, and the results are amazing. Da'an's power appears to be increasing everyday," Ta'lay said. "It will not be long before she can move buildings, teleport across states, and possibly even light fires with her mind."

"My girlfriend is Charlie McGee," Link summarized.

"If all Espelons have this ability, this may be the advantage we need to tip the scales against the priests," Dr. Curzon said.

"You all are getting ahead of yourselves," Da'an said uneasily. "Have you found the source?"

"Your gifts appear to resound from one of two things," Ta'lay said. "Your emotions or your degree of concentration."

"I do not understand," Da'an said.

"When you focus your mental energy hard enough, an invisible psychic force surrounds your energy aura and emanates wherever you direct it in a steady stream," Ta'lay said. "However, short, dramatic bursts appear to accumulate whenever you become emotional. Emotions such as fear and anxiety appear to cause the psychic version of a fight or flight response – the fight being the invisible shield you create and the flight being your teleportation. Emotions such as anger and rage appear to unleash bursts of telekinetic energy or pyrokinetic energy, depending on the degree of rage."

"What about emotions like joy, faith, and…love?" Link asked.

"We don't know yet," Ta'lay said. "When Da'an is in a festive or positive mood, no energy appears to emanate. However, as many humans will tell you, most people feel extremely energetic when they are happy or in love."

"What about sadness or depression?" Da'an asked.

"I don't know. You haven't been sad or depressed in front of us yet," Dr. Curzon said.

"Frankly, those are the types of emotions that I would not like to study anyway," Ta'lay said. "It is possible that positive emotions are cancelled out by your concentration. For example, a human may be in a festive mood, but he is not energetic or excited enough to jump for joy or suddenly start dancing on impulse. However, emotions like fear and anger tend to bring about impulsive actions. It could be that despite the fact that you are happy and energetic, you are not happy enough to act on impulse as you would be if you were extremely angry."

"Basically, as long as you aren't overly excited in a positive or negative manner, your powers will be fueled by your concentration and not your emotions," Dr. Curzon said, "but the moment you become overly excited or enraged, your psychic energy responds in spontaneous spurts or bursts of energy."

Link and Da'an looked at each other. "Should we tell them?" Link whispered so that the two doctors couldn't hear.

"I do not know. I really do not want to," Da'an said. "I mean, you said you were used to it, right?"

"Well, I guess."

"I mean, if you're not—"

"No. No, it's fine. Don't worry about it," Link whispered, "but I still think we should tell them."

"All right. It's your loft," Da'an whispered.

"Okay," Link whispered. He faced Ta'lay and Curzon. "Um, this is gonna sound kinda strange, but there are some…things that have been happening between me and Da'an when we sleep together."

"As in…something intimate?" Dr. Curzon asked.

"No. Not like that," Link said quickly. "We ain't quite there yet. I'm talking about literally. You see, when Da'an and I sleep, I've awaken occasionally to find her…floating."

Ta'lay and Dr. Curzon gave each other confused looks. "As in…'I'm so in love I feel like I'm floating' or as in 'Mary Poppins with the children having a tea party on top of the ceiling floating'?" Ta'lay asked.

It was Da'an and Link's turn to give each other confused looks. "Uh…the second one," Da'an answered.

Ta'lay nodded astounded "Wow. That is really something, not so Dr. Curzon?"

"Oh, yeah," Dr. Curzon agreed trying to find a way to explain that to Link and Da'an. "Well…is Da'an literally asleep?"

"Yes," Da'an said. "Um, I believe so. It usually stops when I start to awaken, and Link has had to tell me about it, so I am quite sure that I am not conscious."

"And it is not often?" Ta'lay said.

"It's not every night, if that's what you're asking, but it has happened more than once," Link said.

"You know, I think that may be a result of your dreams," Ta'lay said. "Have you had any nightmares recently?"

"Not really," Da'an said.

"Well, actually there was that one time when you shot out of bed and all my furniture got magically rearranged," Link said quickly.

Da'an reluctantly admitted to it. "Yes…that did actually happen once."

"When you have nightmares or pleasant dreams, your mind must interpret it the same way it interprets your emotions," Ta'lay said. "When you have extremely euphoric dreams, your mind develops a sense of bliss powerful enough to suspend you in midair via your psychic powers. On the other hand, when you have violent nightmares, your body interprets it the same way as it would a fight or flight situation and unleashes burst of telekinetic energy."

"Oh man," Link suddenly thought. "Does this mean that if she has a violent enough dream, all my stuff's gonna catch on fire? Because I cannot lose my TiVo."

"Oh, will you forget the stupid TiVo?" Da'an asked in an irritated tone. "This is why I did not want them to hear this. I just knew you would trace it back to when that damn TiVo got moved to the other room. I mean, my goodness, Link, it only happened once, and you never let me forget about it. I think I've apologized for that about forty-seven times now."

"Oh, come on, Da'an, it's the All-Star break."

"Da'an, love, it is all right," Ta'lay said, "and Link, I would not worry about that happening. It is natural that Da'an would not have full control over her gifts. Now, Da'an has told me that you do not physically have to sleep and neither does Da'an. Therefore, until she masters her gifts enough to make you both comfortable, just…do not sleep."

Link and Da'an huddled again and whispered it over.

"All right. You got yourself a deal," Link said.

"And in the meantime, your prescription's waiting on my desk, Da'an, and Link, I believe you need a new filter for the energy shower," Dr. Curzon said.

"Yes, actually we do," Da'an said.

"Well, follow me, and we'll get you set up," Dr. Curzon said removing the sensors from Da'an's forehead.

"Excuse me, Da'an," Mi'en called at the doorway. "Our satellites have intercepted a radio transmission from Tau Ceti on an emergency frequency. Major Kincaid and Mr. Urick are waiting for you."

"Thank you, Mi'en. I will be right there," Da'an said. "Link, can you…?"

"Say no more," Link said following Dr. Curzon.

"Thank you," Da'an said kissing his cheek. "Excuse me, doctors."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Salt In the Wound

When Da'an got to headquarters, Renee was there to greet her. She could see Liam and Hubble in a room in front of a large monitor with several people at different stations wearing headphones.

"So what is going on?" Da'an asked Renee.

"It's better if you just go inside," Renee said uneasily holding the door for her.

Da'an stopped and stared at her looking for an answer, but when she received none, she walked inside.

"Tell me why I am here," Da'an told Hubble.

"Because you are the director of interspecies relations, and this is an interspecies emergency," Hubble said. "She's all yours." Then, he walked out of the room.

"She's almost in range, sir," one of the technicians said.

"What is going on here?" Da'an asked Liam.

"It's Lili," Liam said. "She's in a shuttle headed towards Earth. We couldn't make out the whole of the signal, but it sounds like she needs help. As the liaison of interspecies relations, you're entitled to an opinion of whether or not we should respond."

"Help? Her?" Da'an asked unenthusiastically. "Why bother?"

"Let's just hear her out," Liam said.

"Sir, she's in range," the same technician announced.

"Patch her through," Liam said.

Lili's face appeared with three other Jaridians behind her. "This is Captain Lili Marquette calling Major Liam Kincaid."

Liam started to respond when Da'an stopped him. Instead, Da'an took the controls. "You know, you have a lot of nerve showing your face," she said in the microphone.

Lili's face froze. Da'an knew that she could see her. "Uh, wh-who is this?"

"Who do you think this is?" Da'an asked sternly.

Lili observed the features more closely trying to figure out where she had seen this alien before, but one of the Jaridians beat her to it. "Da'an, this is Balvak of the Jaridian Peace Initiative. We are on a mission to enlist the help of humanity."

"Da'an?" Lili exclaimed. "I-I thought you were dead!"

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I was not in the mood to 'be sacrificed' for that little abomination you call a hybrid on that particular day," Da'an retorted.

"Da'an, please. The Jaridians' metabolisms are out of control. Ariel wasn't the Jaridian solution," Lili said.

"Surprise, surprise," Da'an muttered cynically.

"The dying has caused widespread panic. Jaridian resistors are threatening to overthrow the government. It's a civil war," Lili said. "We need help."

"Yes, and which part of that am I supposed to care about?" Da'an asked.

"Uh, Da'an, maybe I should…"

Da'an waved her hand to ward Liam off.

"Look. I know that you're bitter about our last encounter, but this is beyond both of us," Lili pleaded. "If you don't help us, our people are going to die."

"Why?"

Lili was stunned by Da'an's tone. "Wh-Why what?"

"Why in the name of all that's good and holy should I bother sending my people to die for a cause they don't believe in, especially in order to help a people who would drop them like last year's garbage at a whim!"

"The Jaridian high council is ready and willing to sign a peace treaty with you for your assistance," Balvak said. "We are aware of humanity's present situation with the Taelon priests, and we are willing to send troops to assist you."

"Keeping in mind that those particular troops will not last five minutes in this atmosphere," Da'an said bitterly. "No thanks."

"We could offer air support," Lili said.

"Forget it, you lying little Jaridian whore," Da'an shot back. "I wouldn't waste twigs and pebbles on you. We have our own problems here, and we do not need your people screwing it up like they screwed up your sad excuse for a society. As far as I'm concerned, this is just a classic case of that 'three-fold' rule. It's not our problem, it's not our fight, and it's time you started taking responsibility for your own actions. You chose your path the moment you nearly killed both me and Liam, so stop begging for help like a spoiled child and handle it yourself!"

"Da'an, don't hang up on me!" Lili begged.

"Oh, you mean like this!" Da'an shot back, cutting off the transmission. She darted a cruel grin at Liam. "And that's _my_ opinion." With that, she marched out of the room ignoring the stunned faces and dead silence of the people watching her.

Renee and Hubble had been listening to Da'an from the outside. Renee appeared unscathed by the whole incident, but Hubble was just as stunned as the rest of the crowd. He grabbed Da'an's forearm. "What the hell was that?"

"That was my response," Da'an said simply.

"That was insubordination!" Hubble yelled. "Do you realize that you've compromised any possible alliance we could have made with the Jaridians?"

"To the contrary, I've left the decision to humanity," Da'an said. "_Your_ people can do whatever you want, but it will be a cold day in hell before I send _my_ people to aid in any cause _she _is a part of."

"Is that what your people believe, or what _you_ believe?" Hubble asked.

"Why are you pushing this?" Renee asked Hubble. "Personally, I feel the same way as Da'an. This isn't our fight, and we can't afford to lose any people to this. We have problems at home to deal with. We have no allegiance to these people, and as far as I'm concerned, _they'd_ never help _us_ if we were asking them for assistance. Why should we assist them just because they suddenly have a problem they started and just because they happen to have one human on their side?"

"On their side as their personal concubine," Da'an added bitterly.

"That's enough from you two," Hubble said. "Da'an, I'm surprised at you. You of all people should know that true leaders should never let their personal vendettas get in the way of diplomacy. The Jaridians have firepower that we can't afford to reject just because you happen to not like one of the people allied with them who isn't even Jaridian. If you can't get your emotions under control, step down and find someone who can."

"I stand by what I said. Those people are nothing but trouble, and the Taelons would never forgive me if I sent them to die for Jaridians," Da'an shot back. "I've seen Jaridians pull these stunts all the time. They cry truce when things get a little rough, we sign a flawed treaty, and like a Ming vase, they break the treaty and come at us full force after they've found the time to reload their weapons. Those creatures don't have the intelligence for diplomacy."

"And we don't have the firepower to stop the priests," Hubble said.

"It isn't the question of whether or not we have the firepower to stop the priests," Da'an argued. "The priests don't care about firepower. All they have to do is manipulate as many bodies as they can into taking all that firepower for them. I thought the goal here was to stop the priests as bloodlessly as possible."

"My experience with the Synod says that 'bloodless' is a relative term," Hubble said.

"That is different. You can't—"

"I'm sending my people—that's humans and _Taelons_—to assist. And if you ever let your personal issues with Marquette compromise our relationship again, I'm pulling rank."

"Fine. After all, it's not like you'll be going with them, so what do you care?" Da'an said, and with that said, she stormed out of the facility.

"This is a stupid move, Hubble," Renee said.

"It's my move. You'll thank me for this, Renee," Hubble said.

"Someone is going to get killed for this," Renee warned. "I just hope you're ready to accept the consequences."

She ran to catch up with Da'an.

* * *

Renee found Da'an in an empty conference room with her head buried in her hands.

"You must really be an Espelon," Renee said, trying to lighten the mood. "The old Da'an would never have gotten that pissed off."

"That is precisely the problem," Da'an said in frustration. "Mr. Urick was right. I let my anger get the better of me. I've never done that before."

"It's all new to you. You'll get used to it after a while," Renee said pulling a chair next to her. "Besides, I agree with you. We don't even know much about the Jaridian atmosphere. For all we know it could be poison to us in the long run just like Earth is to them. And God knows how long we'll be there. The Iraq War was supposed to last only a month and we got stuck there for five years. Truman had to drop the atomic bomb on Japan just because World War II dragged on for so long."

"It is not all right. I was irrational," Da'an said. "I had every reason in the world to reject her request and the one I choose is that I hate her? I should not have said that, but…just seeing her face again enraged me. Have you ever felt that way about someone? Someone who violated you so wrongfully that just looking at them is enough to drive you mad?"

"Yeah…actually. I used to feel that way about you," Renee said.

Da'an looked back at her.

"I always thought that you were a coward. You never took action against Zo'or, and you caved in on Zo'or when he questioned your loyalty. You got a lot of people killed for that stunt, and you nearly got me and Liam killed. I just…I thought you didn't care about what happened to humanity, and I could never understand what Liam saw in you. But…after I really got to know you, I realized that you and I aren't that different. I found the good in you, and…I found the fight in you. You may consider what you did in there irrational, and…when I think about it, it probably was, but…you never would have had the guts to feel that way or even talk that way if you were a Taelon. It shows the spirit in you—the fight in you. And I like that. I'm glad that you can actually stand up for yourself and not take any crap from anyone."

"Actually, I was like that when I was younger," Da'an said. "Where do you think Zo'or gets it?"

Renee laughed. "Look, give Lili a chance. Even though I think this is stupid and…well, Liam doesn't know this but I really don't care for Lili, those Taelons are never gonna go without your support. They'll just say the same thing you're saying, and probably even worse so. Also if you go, and Hubble doesn't, you'll be able to say when to back down. If it gets too rough, we'll just pull our troops out and come right home. But Hubble's getting us into this. We've gotta see it through. If it comes down to it, we won't even let Lili sit in on the negotiations."

"I probably would not have reacted that way had she not been there," Da'an said with a long sigh. "All right. I am going to swallow my pride and apologize to Mr. Urick, but I absolutely will not apologize to Lili."

"I don't expect you to," Renee said.

* * *

While Liam and Hubble patched things up with the Jaridian ambassadors, Da'an called the Taelons for a special meeting to inform them of the situation.

"And why exactly should we care?" was the first question asked after Da'an finished explaining.

"It seems to me that if we do help the Jaridians in this crisis, and if we do sign a treaty, we are actually helping the priests," one of the scientists said. "With the Taelon-Jaridian War at a close, the priests will no longer have to worry about two opposing forces attacking them at the same time."

"However, we could also gain the upper hand by unifying our cause," another Taelon said. "It is like that classic US slogan: 'United we stand; divided we fall.'"

"More like 'United we fall; divided we do not stand a chance,'" Ta'lay said. "This is just the kind of desperation the priests need to determine how weak we are. If it is civil war as that human female says, it could last forever. The last Taelon civil war in our ancient history was recorded as lasting for fifty-six years."

"And to top all that off, the Taelon-Jaridian War has lasted for thousands of years," another Taelon argued. "We cannot afford to put ourselves in a position that could become long-term. We are not ready for that."

"It does not matter what we think," the Taelon who asked that cynical first question said. "We are going anyway because our so-called leader was not strong enough to oppose this travesty of a battle strategy."

"Hey, you don't talk about Da'an like that!" Mi'en cried. "There was nothing she could have done about this. Too many people wanted it."

"That seemed to be the case with her position in the Synod as well," the same Taelon said.

"If you have such a problem with the way I handle things, there is not one person here stopping you from returning to the priests," Da'an said surprisingly casually.

The Taelon sighed.

"This bickering is pointless," Da'an said. "I do not like this anymore than you do, but there is nothing we can do about it. However, I can promise you that if this situation drags too long for us to stand, I will send you all home. In order to make sure of it, I am going with you personally to oversee our affairs. No Taelon has ever died for a Jaridian, and I am not about to let that happen now."

"Hear, hear," Ta'lay saluted.

The others nodded in agreement.

"So when do we leave?" Mi'en asked.

"The Jaridians will be here in three hours to discuss our role in all this," Da'an said. "I will inform you of the decision as soon as the negotiations are over."

The Taelons reluctantly nodded again, and Da'an adjourned the meeting. Ta'lay caught Da'an as the others were leaving. "I heard about what you said to those Jaridians. I would not worry about that. If the Jaridians knew you were alive, I am sure they expected that kind of heated response to their request. After all, one of their warlords just tried to turn you in for a bounty. You have every reason to be upset."

"That's no excuse," Da'an said.

"Do not let it get to you. If Ka'li had not given his enemies a good verbal assault every now and then to keep them on their toes, the Taelons would never have become as respected as we were during his reign. Every now and then, the Jaridians need a good war of the words just to show that we are not going to let them push us around. It's a dignity issue. If you had just caved in and let them throw us on the scaffold for their insipid cause, they would just use that ten years from now to walk all over us. The first rule of diplomacy is to never be so quick to sign your country away to entangling alliances. That is how riff-raff like World War I gets started."

"Someone's quite the patriot," Da'an said.

"Actually, I am a nationalist," Ta'lay said. "They are not the same thing, I learned."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Negotiations

Da'an made good with her apology to Hubble, and luckily, he was in no mood to rub it in. Balvak asked Lili not to sit in at the negotiations, and she complied even though she wanted to be there. The Jaridians landed in an old airport, where Liam, Renee, Hubble, and Da'an were waiting. Lili had to remain in the shuttle while they quickly escorted the Jaridians inside the old tower where the negotiations would be held.

Liam nudged Da'an to shake hands with Balvak. Da'an reluctantly did so. "I…apologize for my behavior earlier."

"Actually, I think things went pretty well," Balvak said. "I did not even expect a response."

"Shall we?" Da'an asked motioning towards the chairs.

"Thank you for allowing us here," Balvak told Hubble.

"Yes, well I realize your time is short, so let's start immediately," Hubble said. Everyone quickly sat. Liam placed a sensor outside the door to warn them of any intruders, and then he shut the blinds.

"All right. Let's get down to business," Renee said. "What are your demands?"

"Any forces you can spare to help us end the revolution that is bringing our planet to ruin," Vorjak said glaring at Da'an.

Da'an shot a smirk in his direction. "What accommodations are you willing to provide?"

"You will stay in the Citadel with the Jaridian high council and its staff," Balvak said.

"Is that enough room?" Liam asked.

"The Citadel is the size of a major city," the third Jaridian said.

"I am sorry. I did not get your name," Da'an said to him.

"I apologize. My name is Geris. I am Balvak's brother and fellow co-commander of the peace movement," Geris said.

"How do you do?" Da'an asked unenthusiastically.

"Very well, I thank you," Geris played along.

"Moving on," Hubble interrupted, "how do you plan to utilize our soldiers?"

"Defense of the Citadel, and…special operations," Vorjak said.

"Such as…?" Da'an demanded.

"Our military is down to its bare essentials. We have a special mission to capture the leaders of the resistance," Vorjak explained bitterly. "However, we lack the forces necessary to proceed with this operation. If we can capture the leaders, the fighters will be confused enough for us to mow them down."

"Our intelligence officers have obtained readouts of what we believe to be their headquarters," Balvak said. "We would use your humans to assist with ground support, and Taelons you could spare would make excellent pilots and physicians, I hear."

"Do you honestly believe that Jaridian soldiers would approve of treatment from a Taelon healer?" Da'an asked.

Liam pulled Da'an towards him and whispered sharply, "Why are you acting like such a hard-ass?"

"My people have enough problems with simply going to Jaridia. I will not put them in any situation that could cause tensions to rise with the soldiers," Da'an said, "and unlike you, Major, I am not quite ready to trust these people yet. I am protecting the interests of my people as I always have and always will."

"You're incorrigible," Liam muttered.

Da'an jerked free putting an end to the argument and faced Balvak. "You did not answer my question."

"The Jaridians will do whatever we tell them to," Balvak assured, "and if there are any problems, my officers will be there to handle them."

"In your favor or ours?" Da'an asked.

Renee smirked. _She's good._

"In whichever is the victim," Balvak said.

"Will these people be serving under a Jaridian officer?" Da'an asked.

"Yes, but our officers will also be there to ensure all cooperation between the soldiers and the Taelons and humans," Geris assured. "We will do everything in our power to accommodate the arrivals."

"What about food, drinks, and personal facilities?" Renee asked. "Are they human and Taelon accessible?"

"You are allowed to bring whatever supplies you deem necessary," Geris answered. "We have storage facilities that can handle any perishable items. And as for utilities, they are not much different from humanity's"

"And immunizations?" Da'an asked. "Humans are very susceptible to disease."

"The doctors will take care of all of that," Balvak said. "You have my word as an officer that all necessities will be taken care of."

The humans all looked at each other and nodded in agreement that the terms were amenable.

"Well, if everything is taken care of—"

"Excuse me," Da'an said sharply interrupting Hubble. "If no one is going to ask this, I will."

The three Jaridians braced themselves.

"Exactly how long do you plan to keep us involved in your war?" Da'an asked.

The Jaridians all stared at each other. They had anticipated a question like this.

"What do you mean?" Vorjak asked back.

"If your mission fails, will we be expected to stay longer?" Da'an asked.

Vorjak took a deep breath preparing for a very offensive response, but Balvak stopped him. "The obligation lasts as long as the mission," he said.

"Good," Da'an said with a smile. She turned to Hubble. "You may now say whatever it is you were going to say."

Hubble rolled his eyes. "Well, if that's absolutely everything," he said in an irritated tone, "let's draw up the paperwork and end these negotiations."

"It's a pleasure doing business with you," Renee said with Da'an's same sly smile.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Onward March

About two days after the negotiations, an army of fourteen Taelons, Da'an, Mi'en and Ta'lay included, and one hundred and sixty three humans, Renee, Link, and Liam included were on board several Taelon shuttles on their way to Jaridia. Da'an did not want Link to go with them, but as a former marine, he insisted. In reality, he just wanted to be close to Da'an to make sure she didn't get hurt.

The passengers of the ships entered the Jaridian atmosphere to see a juxtaposition of a mighty acropolis and the war-torn outside. The Citadel was about the size of a large college campus. There were droves of black and green buildings stacked together in a network, about three stories tall each, that surrounded five buildings each as tall as the Empire State Building. Balvak explained to the humans that the five buildings were the Citadel itself, and the surrounding buildings were facilities, labs, storage houses, and living quarters for the staff and the leaders. Each of the five buildings belonged to the five branches of the Jaridian government: the lawmakers, the hierarchy, the civilian courts, the military courts, and the high council of generals who governed the military and who took over the entire government in times of war. The hierarchy had been dormant for thousands of years due to the never-ending Taelon-Jaridian War. Tradition was all that kept it existent. One of the biggest issues the Jaridian resistors had was the hierarchy's overall uselessness. They accused the high council of deliberately keeping the Taelon-Jaridian War going on for their own self-interests, rendering the hierarchy useless. Many of the dissenters were former members of the hierarchy.

Outside of the Citadel was a far different story. Fires had broken out everywhere. There was anarchy in the streets, which had been torn from under them. Buildings everywhere had been destroyed due to bombings from both sides. The devastation was driving more and more civilians to side with the rebellion by the hour. Those few still loyal had been driven to hiding or security within the Citadel. The shuttles landed in the center of the Citadel next to the great five buildings. The sounds of gunfire and bombs exploding could be heard even within the Citadel. Soldiers were waiting to quickly escort the humans to their living quarters where they would also be vaccinated. The Taelons were escorted to a different living quarters while the leaders were rushed inside the high council's building.

Renee, Liam, Da'an and Link were led to the Jaridian high council meeting room, which had eerie similarities to the UN meeting floor, where sixteen generals and five Jaridian peace leaders were waiting. Da'an could feel the menacing glowers from the Jaridian generals as she sat at the front row between Link and Liam behind a long desk facing a large stage. Renee sat next to Liam. The Jaridians had no concept of podiums. A single speaker only had himself and the stage to use to make his argument. The Jaridian generals took their respective seats. One of them sat behind Da'an and started blowing at her.

"Hey! Taelon abomination!" he whispered. "That is supposed to be my seat!"

Da'an ignored him, and Link took Da'an's hand more to restrain himself from whirling around to verbally attack him.

"Be sure not to leave your Taelon germs on my chair," the same general whispered.

Several of the other generals had been snickering at the general's slurs and joined in.

"Does she provide pleasure for you, human man-whore?" one of them taunted at Link.

Link rolled his eyes.

"What would you say if I said that I was going to spit on you for defiling my seat, Taelon?"

"Do you bleed now that you are a lost one, Taelon? Can I cut you?"

Liam had been boiling the whole time they uttered slurs at Da'an. "How do you sit there and take that?" he asked Da'an in frustration.

"These types of insults have followed me my whole life, Liam," Da'an said. "I tolerate them the same way they would if it was just them surrounded by a group of Taelons: I sit and pretend not to hear it."

"Order!" Balvak cried. The slurs and jeers stopped. Liam and Link sighed at the same time, while Da'an appeared undisturbed. "We have called this meeting and received the assistance of our allies to battle in order to stop the threat of the rebels once and for all. Our intentions here are to explain the details of our strategy to our newcomers. Vorjak, you have the floor."

"These Jaridian generals act like drinking buddies," Renee whispered to Liam.

"Thousands of years of unquestioned rule will do that," Liam replied.

"You guys are losing to these wankers?" Link whispered to Da'an.

"The Taelon Synod is just as comfortable in their seats as the high council. The only difference is that, with a Commonality, the Synod has to _pretend_ it knows what its doing. Completely closed from the people and little to no opposition has turned these men into gods. They can get away with anything now. They are what keeps this war going, and the only reason we are losing to them is because a lack of a planet has cursed us with a tendency to run out of supplies a lot more quickly."

"In other words, you guys are cowards who _act_ like you're not while the Jaridians are jack-asses who _think_ that they're not."

"Leadership-wise, yes," Da'an replied.

Link scoffed. "Man, I hope our governments never get this screwed up."

* * *

Da'an retired with Link to her quarters worn out from the briefing session. The squabbling and debating about how to refine and foolproof the strategy had dragged the meeting from the scheduled hour to four hours straight with no rest. The Jaridian intelligence had informed the high council that the resistance headquarters was located some distance outside the city. It was decided that air support would clear a path towards a field some miles away from the headquarters. Human soldiers and Jaridian loyalists would stage a diversion in that field drawing the larger forces there. Meanwhile, a small task force would be making their way towards the headquarters to capture the separatist leaders and bring them to justice. Finally, air support would mop up any final resistance. The debate had been over how to make the strategy as bloodless as possible. The Jaridian generals had not limited their verbal abuse to the meeting room. They followed Da'an until Geris and Balvak stepped in and told them to back off.

"I don't ever want to go through a meeting like that again," Link heaved.

"I believe that would have lasted even longer if not for the apparent urgency going on outside," Da'an said. Distant thundering echoed outside the walls. "Speak of the devil."

"Well, sleep well, babe," Link said kissing her cheek. "Big day tomorrow."

"Actually I am only going to lay down for about an hour," Da'an said. "I have to go to the Taelon living quarters to inspect the living conditions."

"Need an escort?" Link offered.

"I will be fine," Da'an said. "Liam is going to meet me there."

"Well, here's my radio," Link said handing her a small walkie-talkie. "Call me if you need anything."

"Thank you…for putting up with all of this," Da'an said.

"Hey, I'm your boyfriend. Putting up with crap is what I do," Link joked.

After she watched Link enter his room, Da'an entered hers and quickly locked the door. It was the same green and black that Da'an had expected. There was an energy shower set up for her in preparation by Balvak's people. The bed was as hard as plywood, but the Jaridians had been kind enough to give Da'an a set of plush and soft pillows. There was also a desk and a storage tank with Jaridian drinks that Da'an knew she would never touch. The trip coupled with the stressfully dragging meeting had drained Da'an. She set the energy shower to turn itself off in one hour and lay under the soft current of energy that relaxed her every nerve into a dreamless slumber.

An abrupt knock outside interrupted Da'an's peace. She checked the energy shower's timer. It had not even been ten minutes! A frustrated blush rolled down Da'an's spine as she marched to the controls that unlocked the door.

It was Lili, with a small red-haired infant cradled in a blanket.

"Oh no," Da'an muttered about to close the door, but Lili stepped in before she could get to the controls.

"We need to talk," Lili said.

"No, _we_ do not have to do anything. _We_ stopped doing anything together at your discretion," Da'an said.

"Could you just give me five minutes?" Lili demanded.

"I wouldn't give you five nanoseconds!" Da'an shot back in irritation.

"Da'an please, you need to know this."

"Need to know what?"

"It's about you and Ariel."

"That little harpy and I have nothing in common."

"Goddamn it, Da'an! Just look at her! Please!" Lili cried.

The baby stirred some, but the long silence soothed her back to sleep. Da'an sighed. "Come in."

Da'an locked the door behind her and watched her sit.

"Aren't you going to sit?" Lili asked.

"I will stand, thank you," Da'an said tonelessly. "What do you want?"

"I told you to look at her," Lili said standing. She bobbed Ariel a little to awaken her. The girl started to whine, but Lili rocked her enough to bring her whines down to a baby coo. "Look into her eyes."

Da'an reluctantly came closer and stared at the baby. In shock, she jumped back. The baby's eyes were blue, just like hers! "What is this?"

"When you gave your energy to me, your DNA must have fused with mine and Vorjak's as her body was forming inside of me," Lili said. "I didn't want to believe it at first, but then…when I saw you on the screen with your red hair. The resemblance gave it away. If I had known you were alive, I would've told you sooner."

"Are you saying that thing is partly mine?" Da'an asked.

Lili nodded. "I'm sorry, Da'an. I never meant to hurt you, but I was desperate."

"No," Da'an panted.

"She was my daughter. I couldn't just let her die," Lili tried to explain.

"Get out," Da'an panted.

"Please, try to understand."

"Get out!"

"Da'an, can't you just look at me?"

There was a pounding outside. "Is everything okay in there?" Link cried.

"Link!" Da'an screamed. She thrust her hands on the controls to unlock the door.

"What's going on here?" Link asked.

"I want her out," Da'an said. "I want her and her…freak out of here!"

"You heard the lady," Link said to Lili. "Get moving."

"Da'an, I need to tell you something else, something I couldn't tell you on Earth."

"Get out!" Da'an yelled thrusting her hand out to the right. There was a loud bang, which was followed by the appearance of a large dent in the wall.

Ariel burst into tears and started screaming. Lili shuddered and left the room. Link took Da'an's arm and pulled her in for a hug. "What happened?"

"Her child—it has my DNA," Da'an panted. "That thing is partly mine."

"Doesn't mean she's your responsibility," Link assured.

"I want to go to the living quarters," Da'an said.

"I'll go with you," Link said walking her out of the room.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Conspiracy Theory

"So you wanna talk about it?" Link asked as they made their way to the living quarters.

"About what?" Da'an asked.

"About what that woman did to piss you off so much," Link said.

Da'an sighed. "It started about three years ago. Lili was a member of the resistance, and I was unaware of that. Our shuttle crashed in the Appalachian Mountains, and Lili was injured. I took care of her until her comrades came to her aid. That was when we started getting close, so I asked her to share with me. Some time after that, I was cut off from the Commonality and devolved into an Atavus beast. She was the only one who reached me. I do not think I would be alive today if it was not for her. She was the closest human friend I ever had. Then things started to come apart. She tried to overload the core of the Mothership to destroy it. I was on it at the time as Zo'or's prisoner. He accused me of having ties with the Liberation Movement. Everyone thought she had died, but she had actually been sent here by Agent Sandoval."

"I guess you weren't too sad when she left considering she tried to kill…you and everyone else," Link said.

"I was angry at first, but only at first. I started to think that maybe she did not know I was on the Mothership," Da'an said. "You are the only person that I have told that story to, but I forgave her. I figured she would not have done it if she had known I was on the ship. Then, she came back. Her shuttle was shot down by a Taelon missile from the Mothership, and she was injured along with her husband Vorjak. She crashed in Antarctica, where Agent Sandoval retrieved her and then proceeded to capture me. She tried to drain my energy in order to save her unborn child."

"What's wrong with that? It sounds like she was desperate," Link said.

"Oh bullshit she was!" Da'an spat. "She was a pregnant human with an altered metabolism that could not handle Earth's atmosphere. For goodness sake, she was gone for almost a year! How long does it take to figure that out! Then, she has the audacity to come back to Earth pregnant and knowing that her delivery date was coming soon. She knew the risks and she couldn't handle the consequences for them! She put herself in that situation, and I'm supposed to get punished for it! I'm supposed to get sacrificed for her goddamn mistake!"

"Whoa, wait. She was your friend, and she tried to make you take the punishment for her stupidity?" Link said. "What an asshole!"

"Thank you! I'm so glad I'm not the only one who thinks that way!"

"Sounds to me like she had it coming. She gets on a shuttle and goes to a planet that she knows will make her sick, and to top that off she's pregnant! And this woman's supposed to be a marine pilot?"

"She was a marine pilot in the SI War, if that helps to explain."

"Okay, Da'an, not to offend or anything, but what in the hell did you see in someone that selfish and that stupid?"

"She's a little manipulative liar," Da'an said. "She had me believing that she only wanted what was best for humanity, and worst of all she's still got other people convinced that she's so damn compassionate. They think she's the Virgin Mary just because she had sex with a Jaridian. My species has been raped by Jaridians for thousands of years. No one ever called us saints!"

"Oh man. Sounds like good riddance to bad rubbish to me," Link said, trying his best to conceal the humor he found in all of this.

Da'an sighed. "Let's try to keep this between ourselves. Liam, for some reason, gets upset when I call Lili out for the lying, selfish, ungrateful whore that she is."

"Don't worry. It's between you and me," Link said.

Liam met Da'an at the entrance to the Taelon living quarters about thirty minutes later. He shook hands with Link and hugged Da'an. "I expected you later," he said.

"I couldn't sleep," Da'an said. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Liam said. "Shall we?" He opened the door for her.

The Taelon living quarters was a large temporary barrack set up for them with mobile cots organized in two rows with energy showers hanging over them. In between the rows was a set of tables with computers, communicators, and blueprints of the area the aerial armada was to attack. The Taelon pilots were going over the plans while healers and scientists were organizing and refining their tools.

They immediately stopped what they were doing to acknowledge Da'an.

"I take it that the move went smoothly," Da'an said.

The Taelons nodded in unison.

"If there are any concerns, address them now," Da'an said.

"Well, actually…" Mi'en started, but her voice trailed off.

"What is it?" Da'an asked.

"Does something feel a little…off about these Jaridians?" Ta'lay asked hesitantly.

"What do you mean?" Da'an asked.

"Well, the Jaridians who escorted us have been surprisingly…courteous," one Taelon said. "They have not uttered slurs at us or even given us dirty looks."

"Glad they been treatin' you that way," Link said. "We had to sit in front of a bunch of racist Jaridian warlords for about four hours straight."

"No, Balvak had a talk with the soldiers after that," Liam said, "and told them to stop bothering the Taelons. Renee and I were there when he did."

"It sounds to me like they are trying a little _too_ hard to win our favor," Ta'lay said. "Think about it. They never got upset over Da'an's outburst. They took the time to organize all of this perfectly and neatly for us. They even have a storage tank back there with their best foods ready for our use. Now, I have not been to too many summit meetings Da'an, but I am quite sure they never treat any Taelon this well."

"If Balvak did behave that way, it is strange," Da'an said. "That would entitle that a Jaridian officer commanding his platoon actually relayed Balvak's message to his fellows, and they actually complied. That's never happened to us before. "

"They are doing everything in their power to keep us here," Mi'en said. "I'll bet Balvak even told the generals to stop calling you names after that, didn't he?"

"He did do that," Liam said. "Maybe we're just reading too much into this."

"Maybe," Da'an said. "Well, if anything else strange occurs, you know my frequency. Be safe out there tomorrow."

The Taelons gave Da'an the Taelon greeting. Da'an, Liam, and Link returned the greeting and left. Right afterwards, the three huddled together to discuss what they had heard.

"I don't think we should worry about this," Liam said. "The Jaridians' motives seem to be from desperation, and that's why they're trying so hard to treat us right."

"If they were that desperate, why are all these soldiers walking around like nothing's wrong?" Link asked. "It sounds like they have plenty to spare. Also, if they were desperate, why hasn't this whole Citadel been scratched? Pretty well-fortified for a severely understaffed military."

"Vorjak told us at the briefing session that all of the fighting has been concentrated outside the Citadel," Da'an said. "If the situation was as desperate as they have been letting on, that would mean that the Jaridian rebels were strong enough to push towards the Citadel."

"So the situation's not as desperate as they're letting on," Liam said. "That doesn't mean they can't use our help."

"Your friendship with Lili is overriding your logic," Da'an said to Liam. "You used to be willing to investigate any Taelon operation at the slightest hint of a conspiracy, but you will not investigate into this?"

"It sounds to me like you two are looking for a reason to prove her wrong just because you hate her—why, I don't know," Liam said.

"Then, prove me wrong," Da'an said. "Prove me wrong by assisting Link in an investigation."

"I'm not going to play into your paranoia," Liam said. "I'm sorry, but I trust Lili."

"Is that because you think you've known her longer, or because she's a human?" Da'an interrogated.

"I'm not going to do this with you, Da'an," Liam said. "I'm going back to my quarters, and, for your sake, I suggest you do the same."

Liam marched back to the human living quarters where he was stationed.

"Da'an!" a familiar voice cried.

It was Renee. Balvak had asked her to check and make sure his orders had been carried out and the Taelons had got into their living quarters with no problems. She had been close enough to hear them, but the three had been so insulated at the moment that they never saw her coming.

"I believe you," Renee said. "I decided to take a little walk to the Jaridian hierarchy building—you know, where the civilian government's supposed to be."

"Yeah," Link said.

"The twelve topmost floors have been completely cleared out and sealed off, and I haven't met one single member of the hierarchy," Renee said. "The staff told us that since the hierarchy's been deposed for thousands of years, they decided to disband the it and renovate the area to make space for something useful."

"Why in the hell would the citizens allow the high council to shut down an entire branch of their government?" Link asked.

"Maybe the citizens didn't allow it," Da'an said, "and that is the problem."

"Do you think we're fighting on the right side?" Renee asked.

"I don't know," Da'an said. "Are you two willing to look into this a little deeper?"

"No problem," Link said.

"I'm with you," Renee said.

"Link, the Jaridians have a large library full of chronicles of the Jaridian history. They are supposed to keep it up to date," Da'an said. "Take Ta'lay, go to the library and see if you can find out when this alleged civil war started. Renee, go to the fourteenth floor of the hierarchy building. The secretaries there keep a record of all the minutes of any type of hierarchy event. Find out when their last event was held and when they decided to renovate the top floors. Report to me and only to me when you learn anything. Do you know where I am, Renee?"

"Yeah," Renee said.

"What about you?" Link asked.

"I am going to have a little talk with these alleged peace officers," Da'an said. "Then, I'm going to make a few calls."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Investigation

Lili entered a dark laboratory, where scientists were working at three different stations. The first was a series of empty tanks of green liquid. The second was a large table full of samples inside petri dishes and test tubes. The final station was a large screen where scientists were running simulations. Vorjak and one other general were there arguing, it appeared, with a scientist in the Jaridian language.

Lili watched in the distance until Vorjak stormed off and found her.

"Hello, beloved," he said in a distressed tone.

"What's wrong?" Lili asked.

"We lost another mother," Vorjak said.

"I'm so sorry," Lili said.

"It is not your fault," Vorjak said placing his hand on her cheek. "They just can't seem to handle the embryos."

"Well have you tried growing them artificially?" Lili asked. "Remember we talked about that?"

"We did, and I suggested it," Vorjak said. "That was the brunt of our argument. We simply do not possess the technology."

"What about trying a full combination like we did with Ariel? Maybe we could try putting Taelon DNA or energy in the mix."

"That is absolutely out of the question. This must be done without them or not at all. I will burn in hell before I let our species become dependent on them."

"But I still think Ariel could be of great use. Even if she does have Taelon DNA, we could still use her. The tests indicate that she will be able to reproduce when she gets older."

"Your motherly instincts are overriding your loyalty. This must be a human-Jaridian solution. We cannot become dependent on them. That is just what they want. We will let the scientists figure it out. We are working with the best."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Lili lied. "The attack's in a few hours. The others wanted me to get you and Turok."

"This will be a great day in history," Vorjak said. "I look forward to it with great anticipation. You have done well, beloved."

"I'm sure I have," Lili said uncertainly.

* * *

The Jaridian library was in a smaller building just outside the five towers. It was a grand black structure in the shape of a warped pyramid. Inside was a force field behind a large desk where seven Jaridians were working. Behind the force field, Link and Ta'lay could see columns of shelves containing disk sets with recordings of the entire Jaridian history.

The Jaridians became alert when they saw Ta'lay with Link.

"No Taelons allowed," one of the female workers said.

"Oh please," Ta'lay scoffed. "I am one of the Taelons your beloved government asked to come, and I have Da'an's approval to be here."

"All the same, no Taelons are allowed," the same female said.

"Look, lady, we just want to see one little insignificant document," Link said. "She ain't event gonna be reading it technically. She's just translating."

"I'm sorry—"

"Do you want to take this up with Da'an? Because I can guarantee you that this conversation will be quite unpleasant if we have to bring her into this," Ta'lay demanded. "Your masters sent us here to clean up your mess, so why don't you just dismiss those age-old prejudices you claim don't attribute to your narrow-mindedness and let us in?"

"I wouldn't let you in for all the dignity in the universe, you Taelon _klatak_," the female said.

Link pulled out his pistol and pointed it directly to her forehead. "You got two options, bitch," he said menacingly. "Either my Taelon goes through that force field, or _you_ do."

The female glared at them and let down the shield. "But you're on your own."

"We got all the time in the world," Link said with a wry smile.

They strode pass the glaring Jaridians and disappeared in the maze of columns.

"What a bitch," Link whispered.

"You called me a female," Ta'lay said.

"Huh?"

"'She,'" Ta'lay explained. "You said 'she' is just translating."

"Oh, sorry. Force of habit," Link said. "Kinda happens when you got a Taelon girlfriend."

"Only Da'an is not a Taelon. She is an Espelon."

"Taelon, Espelon—tomato, to-mah-to—it's all the same to me," Link said. "Now how in hell is all this organized?"

"Well, they do not use a Dewey decimal system if that's what you are asking," Ta'lay retorted.

Link shook his head humorously.

"They probably organize it by date," Ta'lay said. "That is how we used to do it."

"Seems like that'd be all the more reason _not_ to organize it by date," Link said.

"Well, at the least, it is a good place to start," Ta'lay said.

"After you," Link said giving him the space to move.

* * *

Renee re-entered the hierarchy building where an usher was waiting to take her to the fourteenth floor. The structure was black and green and very crystal-like. The offices had slide doors, but it was hard to tell where they were. Renee finally found a large room in the center of the floor where Jaridians were working in large stations around a giant central computer.

"May I help you?" a male Jaridian asked.

"Yes, is this the old hierarchy's archive room?" Renee asked very casually.

"It is," the Jaridian replied. "What exactly were you looking for?"

"The minutes of the last hierarchy meeting," Renee said. "Commander Kincaid sent me, but he said I couldn't elaborate on it."

"Of course. Follow me," the Jaridian said leading her to a screen. He typed in a command, and a black screen of yellow Jaridian symbols appeared. "Would you like me to translate, although I should warn you there is nothing of real importance here."

"I'd just like to know the date if that's okay," Renee said.

"The date, you say?" the Jaridian asked with a suspicious look.

"Uh, yeah. Is that all right?" Renee asked innocently.

"Perhaps you would like something a little more intimate," the Jaridian said, brining his voice down to a whisper.

"Excuse me?" Renee asked, lowering her voice as well.

"You look like the type of human who questions the integrity of her masters," the Jaridian said. "You look like the type of human who does not judge things simply by the look."

"What are you asking for?" Renee asked.

"Meet me on the first floor in ten minutes," the Jaridian said. "I will give you irrefutable evidence of what you need."

A strange feeling of dread came over Renee as the Jaridian continued with his work.

* * *

"I would like to speak with Balvak," Da'an said to a Jaridian servant.

"It's late," the servant said tonelessly. "He's probably at his quarters."

"Then, take me there," Da'an demanded.

"The master usually does not like to be disturbed during his sleep."

"Well, he will simply have to make an exception because I am not leaving here without speaking to him."

The Jaridian glared at her.

"Don't you ever look at me like that," Da'an warned with a stare just as menacing. "I am not giving you an option, Jaridian scum." An orb of energy appeared over Da'an's palm. "Now if I do not see Balvak in the next sixty seconds, we are going to have a problem."

Da'an felt the Jaridian quiver as he complied and led her to Balvak's chambers. He knocked loudly.

"I do not want to be disturbed," a faint voice from inside called.

"Not even for me?" Da'an shot back.

The door opened. "Hello, Da'an. May I help you with something?"

"You can let me in and tell your servant to find another job," Da'an said.

"Done," Balvak said glaring at the servant.

The servant walked away with a bewildered look painted all over his face. Balvak showed Da'an inside and closed the door. The room was remarkably similar to hers, only the window was bigger and the bed looked more comfortable.

"You are quite ruthless when it comes to our species," Balvak said. "I expected a controlled and tranquil Da'an."

"I did not become a member of the Synod by being nice all the time," Da'an said.

"Still, I expected you to be a little compliant, not like…"

"Zo'or?" Da'an finished.

"Well…yes," Balvak said.

"It tends to happen when you have spent your life dealing with people like your high council masters," Da'an said. "If there is anything that I have learned about your species, it is never to let your guard down. After all, let's be honest. Jaridians have no respect for a tranquil and diplomatic Taelon. They consider them weak."

"That's true. The generals do tend to prefer a cold, hard Taelon to a taciturn one," Balvak admitted. "It's harder to hit the ones who talk back. They like a challenge. All right. To what do I owe the honor of this very late and abrupt visit?"

"I want to know more about the civil war," Da'an said.

"What would you like to know?" Balvak asked casually.

"What a Jaridian of your stature is doing working for the high council."

"My brother and I started the peace movement years ago," Balvak began. "It started when I was a boy. The Jaridian soldiers are so desperate that they give a gun to a Jaridian boy on his seventh birthday and wish him the best of luck. I lost my innocence at the age of eight along with my brother, who had just joined at the time. We attacked and raided a Taelon colony. You may remember it. Colony Tet'ra."

Da'an sighed. "I remember," she said tonelessly.

"A Taelon scientist had just assisted a birth when we burst in," Balvak explained. "I understand that the Taelons had long had a problem with reproduction. This must have been one of those spontaneous moments when a child was actually produced."

"I just said that I remember the campaign. Your government ordered the elimination of all nursing colonies where the few Taelons who could reproduce asexually were there. They did not want the Taelons producing any more fighters for the cause. They thought it would end the war faster."

"I know, or at least I found out after we attacked. The scientist threw himself over the parent and the child when Geris fired. He died instantly. Geris never meant to fire, but he had been so agitated by all the fighting that when he saw the scientist act, he instinctively pulled the trigger. The sight was so traumatic for the parent that he fainted. The baby started screaming. More soldiers came in and slaughtered the family. We watched them tear through the parent and the child as if they were nothing but…paper. It wasn't until later that we learned that the scientist was actually the first child of the parent. This was the parent's second child. He was willing to sacrifice his life for his parent and his sibling. It discounted everything I had learned of your species. Everyone says the Taelons are ruthless, emotionless wolves in sheep's clothing who would never help anyone but themselves. Geris and I had never expected such a noble sacrifice. We decided that we could not kill any more Taelons, and we started talking about a peace movement. When we grew, we had risen through the ranks and gained enough respect to start the movement."

"What made you decide to work for the high council?" Da'an asked.

"It was not a quick decision," Balvak said. "The civil war started a few years after we started the peace movement. We tended to the sick and the wounded no matter which side they were on. We attended debate after debate to ask for an end to the suffering. The generals finally caved in, I suppose, and said they were ready to end it. However, our forces had dwindled so rapidly that we needed your help. That was what the original peace mission was supposed to be about—the one that nearly killed Vorjak and Lili."

"Supposed to be?"

"Lili never would have gone as pregnant as she was," Balvak said. "She knew the risks. However, we were so desperate that she could not refuse when we asked her. The only reason Vorjak went was to protect her. We thought that a human would help bridge the prejudice gap we have spent thousands of years creating. Apparently it wasn't enough."

"So you waited," Da'an said.

"No, we gave up," Balvak said. "We simply started planning to do it with what little forces we had. Then, we learned about the reward the Synod had posted for you and we sent ambassadors to investigate. The Jaridian warlord Dujak told us an elaborate story of a female Da'an who had successfully managed to cut herself off from the Commonality without any repercussions. When we investigated further we learned about your little revolution against the priests."

"It's not a revolution. It is evolution," Da'an said.

"We thought you would sympathize with us since you were not a part of the Synod anymore," Balvak explained. "You always seemed more sympathetic than the others. I had expected you to completely turn us down, but Geris was more hopeful than me."

"I cannot say that I am ashamed that I let you down," Da'an said.

"You must truly hate us," Balvak said.

"I hate your leaders, not your species," Da'an said. "When did this war start? Was it after the downfall of the hierarchy?"

"Downfall?" Balvak asked bewildered. "The hierarchy is still in power."

"Then why have you shut down the topmost floors of the hierarchy's building?" Da'an asked.

"Because we have moved them to a safer location," Balvak said.

"Your workers say you are renovating the place."

"We are. The hierarchy building has needed renovations for the last fifteen years," Balvak said. "We finally found the time."

"As severely understaffed and undersupplied as you are, you choose now to renovate a building of that scale?"

"I don't question issues of that nature," Balvak said. "It was what the generals told me."

"Maybe you should," Da'an said while thinking to herself. "I learned that some of the hierarchy members belong to the resistance. Is that true?"

"It is."

"And the factions are those who support the hierarchy and those who support the high council, correct?"

"The factions are those who support the government as is and those who follow the hierarchy dissenters. It is no different than the war you are fighting with the priests," Balvak said.

"Is that from experience, or was that what you were told by the generals?"

"What are you talking about?"

"When was the loyalist hierarchy moved? Before or after the peace movement got involved?"

"Before," Balvak said trying to understand where she was leading him. "We got involved a few months before Lili arrived."

"Then, that's what—a year? Two years?"

"About two years ago, I suppose."

"So the hierarchy was moved almost two years ago and has not been seen or heard from since?"

"The generals…administer…their judgment," Balvak said.

Da'an could tell it had finally hit him. "How did this conflict even originate?"

"It started with protest movements led by the hierarchy dissenters. Then, a Jaridian high council soldier accidentally shot and killed the wife of the leader of the movement. She was two months pregnant. The incident brought more and more people on the side of the rebels, and all out war started. Our peace movement started out helping those who had fallen in battle. Then, my brother and I were brought before the high council to answer to our alleged treachery. When we explained our reasoning, we were held for a few days and released. The cycle continued until one day, Vorjak came to me and asked us to work with the high council personally. They told us the situation had gotten so desperate they had to move the hierarchy. It was not so hard to believe. Our life expectancy is getting shorter and shorter. Mothers are dying with their children in their wombs. We were losing forces to both the Taelons and the Jaridians rebels. Both of our species are dying, Da'an. How could I have refused?"

"Are you trying to defend your decision, or are you trying to justify it?"

"What's the difference?"

"Someone who defends is still supportive of their masters and will defend to the death their integrity. Someone who justifies has learned that he may have made the wrong decision and desires to atone."

"I suppose you have felt both ways once or twice to know the differences," Balvak said.

"I have."

"If that is the case, then I am trying to justify myself."

"You can justify yourself by calling for a twenty-four-hour halt of the attack effective tomorrow morning," Da'an said rising to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"I am going to hear both sides of this story," Da'an said.

* * *

After his argument with Da'an, Liam decided to get some rest, so he retired to his quarters. The rest of the men and women had already gone to sleep, so he tried to walk in quietly. He found Lili sitting in his bed.

"What's wrong?" Liam asked her.

"I never thought I'd see Da'an again," Lili said. "When we got home and I finally found some moments alone, I cried myself to sleep. Vorjak said I was crazy to cry for her. I'm starting to think I was."

"Da'an's been stubborn even to me, Lili," Liam said. "But it never lasts. She'll forgive you when she's ready to. She can't stay mad for long."

"I was only protecting my daughter. You know that. I never would have hurt you," Lili said.

"I know," Liam said, "but you never explained it to her. You just told her she had to die."

"We were so close, and now she can't stand the sight of me," Lili said. "I'd go so far as to say that she wishes I had died."

"Da'an would have given her life to save you and your child. I just think that Da'an feels like you took her and forced her to do it."

"Maybe I should have asked."

"Or at least made a better appeal than 'Da'an must be sacrificed.'"

"Don't even start."

"I'm sorry. That's not funny."

Lili sighed. "Ariel has Da'an's DNA."

"What?"

"When Da'an's energy came to me it must have filtered into Ariel's genetic structure during the final stages of her development. We noticed it about a week after we came back. Her eyes turned that same sky blue, and her hair started changing color whenever she saw a color she liked. Is it just a coincidence that they're both red-heads at the same time?"

Liam chuckled wryly. "Da'an doesn't have any room to criticize. She's betrayed her friends before too. Look what she did to me and Renee."

"She thinks she does," Lili said.

"I'll talk to her."

"No, I still want to try and reach her. We've been friends for so long. I'm not giving up on us. But…I didn't come here to talk about this. I'm worried about this whole attack tomorrow."

"What do you mean?"

"You're aware of the Jaridians' situation?"

"You mean that they're dying because of their metabolisms? Yeah, you told me."

"I came here just after the time the civil war started. They had told me that they had lost all hope, and a Jaridian hybrid with me was a last resort. I resisted about as ruthlessly as Da'an has, but I fell in love with Vorjak. He comforted me and made me less afraid. When I looked into Vorjak's eyes, I saw someone more like myself. Then, he took me. I thought everything was finally going well for me. When Ariel was born, I felt complete."

"But…"

"Then, things just started to come apart. Ariel wasn't the Jaridian solution, and Vorjak was furious. I began to feel that he had only been kind to me to knock me up. I felt used and dirty. He's obsessed now with finding a solution. He talks about it night and day. He visits the geneticists all the time. Whenever he wants me to participate in the experiments, he's kind and gentle, but all other times, he so cold and distant. He won't even look at Ariel, his own daughter."

"I'm really sorry," Liam said.

"Me too. I'm sorry that I fell for it," Lili said. "I know that the high council's not telling you guys something, but I don't know what it is yet. I tried to tell Da'an, but she wouldn't listen."

"What do you want to do?"

"Come with me to the Jaridian rebels camp," Lili said. "I've always wanted to go, but Vorjak always has people watching me like a hawk. I want to go now while his guard's down, and I want you to go with me."

"All right," Liam said. "I'll tell Renee to hold the troops here."

* * *

"Link! Come here!" Ta'lay whispered. "I have found the current events section."

"Finally," Link sighed, rushing to the very back of the library in the last section. "It would be all the way back here."

"I told you it was in chronological order, but you wouldn't listen. Typical American ego," Ta'lay said.

"Let's talk about that bland-ass food over in England while we're on the subject of nativism," Link said.

Ta'lay ignored him and began reading the labels of all the disks. He searched the entire section, and then a strange look appeared on his face.

"What is it?" Link asked.

"Uh, one moment," Ta'lay said in a confused tone. He checked the section again and again for ten minutes. "I don't believe it."

"You haven't found it yet?" Link asked in frustration.

"No, because it's not here," Ta'lay said. "There is no record of this war."

"Are you sure we're in the right section?" Link asked.

"The farthest back this goes is the positioning of Vorjak to the high council. He is the latest general to be put on the high council. This is the right section. The records of the civil war are missing."

"Give me the comm.," Link said.

Ta'lay handed it to him.

"Da'an, where are you?" Link asked.

There was no answer.

"Da'an. Can you hear me?" Link cried.

"Keep your voice down. This is a library," Ta'lay said. "They'll hear us."

"Let's get out of here," Link said. "Maybe the structure's blocking the radio waves."

They casually left the library and ignored the Jaridians' glares. When they got outside they hid in a corner outside the library away from the public's view.

"Da'an," Link said again into the communicator, "it's Link. Talk to me."

"I can…hear you," a faint voice surrounded by static said.

"What?" Link cried. "Da'an! Say again!"

"Link…I…barely h…you."

"I don't think she can hear us," Ta'lay said. "That's what it sounds like."

"But we're outside," Link said.

"Maybe we have to find a clearer area," Ta'lay suggested.

The voice suddenly grew louder, but the static still remained. "Link! Where are you?"

"Wait! Stay right where you are, babe!" Link yelled into the communicator. "Can you hear me?"

"There is a lot of static, but yes, I can," Da'an's voice said in a voice just as loud. "What is it?"

"Look, something stinks with these Jaridians," Link said. "There's no record of this civil war in the library."

"What!" Da'an cried.

Ta'lay grabbed the communicator. "The place where the civil war record should be is missing," he said.

"I think those generals are planning something big," Link said. "I think they might be using us."

"Have you heard from Renee?" Da'an asked.

"No, we haven't heard anything," Ta'lay said.

"Balvak is going to hold the attack for twenty-four hours," Da'an said. "Tell the troops, and stay put. Do not let the generals continue with the attack."

"Where the hell are you right now?" Link asked.

"I am outside the Citadel," Da'an said. "I believe they may have some kind of shield blocking the radio waves. This place is a wasteland, and I can hear the fighting in the distance."

"Where are you going?" Ta'lay asked.

"To…Jaridian…camp."

"What!" Ta'lay cried.

"To the Jaridian rebel camp!"

"Are you moving, Da'an? Stop. We can barely hear you!" Ta'lay cried.

"I cannot stop. I'm…followed."

"You're what?"

"Someone is…"

The transmission was cut off.

"Da'an?" Ta'lay panted.

There was nothing but the sound of static.

"Da'an!" Link cried.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Ta'lay asked.

"I don't know," Link said, "but whatever it is, those damn generals have been playing us like the London Symphony Orchestra."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: The Sheep in Wolves' Clothing

"Who was that on the communicator?" Geris asked Da'an.

After convincing the generals to halt the attack, Balvak had sent his brother to protect Da'an on their journey. The two had been weaving their way through the rubble trying to avoid the soldiers on both sides. Right now they were hiding in what was left of a house.

"My boyfriend…and my doctor," Da'an replied.

"Interesting," Geris chuckled checking the area for any spies.

"Do not judge them too lightly. I trust them with my life."

"You strike me as the type who does not trust anyone."

"You strike me as the type who trusts too much," Da'an said back.

"Maybe I do, but it's hard to look over your shoulder everywhere you go."

"True. Speaking of which, are we still being followed?"

"I don't see anyone," Geris said checking again to be sure.

"How far along are we?"

"We're about halfway to the nearest camp, but it's not where the leaders are," Geris said.

"How do you know so much about these camps?" Da'an asked.

"The peace movement was given full access to all camps before we were hired by the high council, but we took a vow of silence to never disclose the information. There are innocent people in these camps, and if the Jaridian high council knew of their location, they'd slaughter those people like animals."

Da'an smiled in admiration. Geris helped Da'an to her feet, and they took off into the wasteland.

"It seems like there is restless fighting," Da'an said listening to the gunfire and explosions in the distance.

"That's what it feels like," Geris said. "We're losing a lot of good people. My friends. That's why we want to end both of these wars."

"I don't know if I can do anything about the Taelon-Jaridian War."

"We'll work something out."

"Wait!" Da'an whispered.

"What is—?"

Da'an silenced him before he could finish. A strange feeling came over her that caused her to pause. She reached out with her hands to determine the source. She found herself in a sudden shock and yelled to take cover. Geris pulled out an energy gun and dove to a wrecked wall. Da'an followed him. Suddenly, there came a group of Jaridian soldiers in the middle of a gunfight. Geris told Da'an the ones in dark green jumpsuits were Jaridian rebels. The ones dressed in black were soldiers for the high council.

"Watch out!" Da'an cried. Geris ducked just in time before Da'an released a psychic wave that send two high council soldiers into the wreckage.

The rebels took care of the rest of the soldiers. Geris and Da'an appeared from hiding unarmed and put their hands in the air. One of the rebels nodded that it was all right to put their hands down. Then, he started speaking to them in a dialect of Jaridian that Da'an couldn't understand.

"That does not sound like a dialect in this territory," Da'an said to Geris.

"I think it's _Vlutak_," Geris said. Then he started speaking in the same dialect. After a few words were exchanged, Geris turned to Da'an. "He said they saw these soldiers following us and engaged them."

"I knew I was not crazy," Da'an exclaimed.

"I never said you were," Geris said.

The Jaridian interrupted with more of his dialect.

"What did he say?" Da'an asked.

"He wants to know if you are who he thinks you are," Geris said.

"Who does he think I am?"

Geris asked him. More words were exchanged.

"He thinks you are the Espelon Da'an that broke away from the Commonality without the punishment of devolution."

Da'an nodded to the Jaridian in acknowledgement. The rebels began murmuring in excitement. Then, they started motioning for the two to follow them.

"They're taking us to their hideout. Apparently the leader's been expecting you," Geris said.

"What?"

Geris just shrugged and motioned to follow them. "By the way, you never told me how you did that."

"Did what?"

"You knocked those two soldiers into the ground without touching them," Geris said. "I've seen Taelons use their energy as a weapon before, but never through their hands. You must have the sha'quarava like us."

"I don't," Da'an said. "It was a burst of mental energy called telekinesis."

"You are a psychic?" Geris asked. "But how? I heard that only the priests had those kind of powers."

"The Taelons give their mental energy to the Commonality, which fuels the powers of the priests," Da'an said. "When I freed myself, I freed my own mental energy from the priests' grasp. But before then, I was a special case."

"What do you mean?"

"Every Taelon child is born not fully connected to the Commonality. The fear is that a full connection is too much for a developing mind to bear. It could drive them mad. However, their connection is supposed to be strong enough to inhibit their psychic abilities. That was not the case with me. The priests took it upon themselves to meld me into their sleeper. They took me when I was sixteen and enforced my full connection to the Commonality. After that, they blocked all my memories of my childhood, and they continued to block any part of my life where my abilities would slip up."

"I never knew they could do that to a Taelon," Geris said.

"The priests can do whatever they want to any Taelon when they want it," Da'an said. "But it does not matter anymore."

"I think it does."

"It is none of your concern," Da'an said.

Geris wanted to hear more, but they were forced to stop talking when the rebels asked them to board a transport vehicle. It was a hovering green crystal device, square in shape with poles sticking upward from each corer. There were three seats on the front, three in the middle, and three in the back—all black in color. At the top, more poles completed a rectangular box. The steering appeared to be a joystick on the leftmost front seat. Da'an and Geris were asked to sit in the middle while the other soldiers sat in the front and back. Once the vehicle's engine started, invisible force fields surrounded the walls and the ceiling of the vehicle and they were on their way.

It took them about an hour to get to their destination. Along the way, Da'an saw several bruised civilians and their children with tattered clothing trying to hide from the war anywhere they could. Hovering every now and then were Jaridian seeker ships. These had been the ships from which Da'an had heard the constant bombing. The vehicle was so maneuverable that none of these ships spotted them. Da'an also saw that squads from both sides were using Jaridian replicants they had either manufactured or reprogrammed. The carnage reminded Da'an of the Taelon massacre that had turned the Taelons' and Jaridians' war of the words into an all out war. A group of Jaridian terrorists hacked into the portal system and smuggled themselves into the Taelon capitol and the surrounding areas. They bombed the Synod building, where Ka'li, the last great Synod leader, had been. He was the first to die. In the confusion, more terrorists snuck in like insects. Innocent Taelons were raped and massacred. Children were either killed instantly or tortured. One half of the Synod was slaughtered. Quo'on, Da'an, and their child Zo'or had been trying to make their escape when a group captured them. After that…

The vehicle stopped in an area that appeared to be nothing more than more scorched earth. The rebels, one by one climbed into a well and disappeared. They motioned for Da'an and Geris to do the same. The well was, in fact, a chute that led them into a large underground network.

The two were led past more tattered citizens who were either looking at Da'an in awe, in terror, or with extreme prejudice. Da'an ignored some of their more slanderous comments until she was led to a large conference room. There, four Jaridians were sitting at a black rectangular table. The rebels saluted the four and then asked Da'an and Geris to sit. Finally, they were dismissed.

"So from what I hear, you are expecting me," Da'an told the four Jaridians.

"We were expecting you the moment our spies told us that you had agreed to assist the high council in destroying us," one of the leaders said. "But introductions, first and foremost. I am Kunik. These are my fellow counselors Lutak, Boren, and Sharak."

"I know those names," Da'an said. "You are all former members of the hierarchy."

"We knew you were not so foolish," Kunik said, "as to believe the lies of the high council. We knew your investigation would lead you to us. We are expecting more of your friends soon."

"Excuse me?" Da'an asked.

"Our spies told us of a human female who was asking questions about the last hierarchy meeting," Lutak said. "Does that sound familiar?"

"Yes," Da'an replied. "What happened to the hierarchy?"

"It was destroyed," Sharak said. "The hierarchy protested the war and was slaughtered one-by-one for high crimes. We had escaped long before the killing began to form this resistance. We are the four who started it, and we are the only ones left. It was my wife who was killed."

"I'm so sorry," Da'an said.

"It's all right," Sharak said. "The high council may have you convinced that we started the civil war in retaliation for her death. In reality, it was an extremist faction of our group. The high council interpreted it as a representative of all who opposed them and declared martial law."

"Why were you protesting in the first place?" Da'an asked.

"Our people are dying. Our metabolisms are killing us. We were demanding an end to the Taelon-Jaridian War to focus on problems at home," Sharak explained. "After the civil war, the hierarchy had enough. A battle for power began. The hierarchy lost. It is no more."

"They lied to us," Geris realized. "They have been lying to us the whole time."

"Balvak has managed to halt the attack for about twenty-four hours," Da'an told the leaders. "We have Taelons and humans stationed in the Citadel. Surely we could be of some use to you and help end both of these wars."

"We had hoped you would say that," Kunik said. "We have a strategy to stop the high council from the inside. We've never been able to get more than a few spies inside however."

"Yes, we keep it guarded like a fortress," Geris said cynically.

"When I give the word, those Taelons will attack whomever I tell them to," Da'an said. "I can also convince Liam Kincaid to assist. He is the human commander."

"That's not enough to stop the thousands of soldiers they have outside," Geris said. "The forces are being recalled for the attack that's supposed to happen tomorrow. The high council will recall all those troops to the Citadel and get them ready during the twenty-four-hour waiting period."

"We've noticed that too," Kunik said. "Your forces coupled with ours will still not be enough."

"You do not have to worry about that," Da'an said. "It's already taken care of."

"What do you mean 'it's already taken care of'?" Geris asked.

"Just what I said," Da'an replied. "It's already taken care of. Do you trust me?"

"According to you, I trust too much," Geris retorted.

Da'an smirked. "When are you expecting my other colleagues?" Da'an asked the leaders.

A beeping noise sounded as if right on cue. Kunik pressed a button to silence the sound. "Right about now."

The doors opened to reveal Liam, Renee, and Lili.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: The Requiem

"The high council will notice all of you missing," Da'an said to Liam and Lili. "You shouldn't have come."

"We're just as dedicated as you in figuring this out," Liam said.

"Don't worry," Geris assured. "Balvak will keep them occupied."

"Nevertheless," Kunik said. "It will serve our interests better if one of you returns after this conference."

"I'll do it," Lili said. "I can keep them occupied too. Vorjak's my mate."

"I am aware of that Captain Marquette," Kunik said.

Kunik introduced his other three fellows and told them the same thing he told Da'an. After that, he told them of the bold plan to put the high council out of power once and for all from the inside. It was decided that the humans would protect the high council building from the ground forces as much as they could until the rebel reinforcements arrived. The Taelons would provide air support for the humans. After that, Liam and Da'an would hold the Jaridian generals prisoner until the four rebel leaders could push in. Once the generals were secure, the four would re-establish the hierarchy with Geris and Balvak's peace corps and end the civil war. The Taelons and humans would leave it to them to rebuild their world. The rebels couldn't afford to attack immediately, however. They would have to wait out the twenty-four hours Balvak had bought for them even though they knew they risked facing thousands of recalled high council soldiers.

Liam, Renee, and Da'an were offered shelter at the hideout for a few hours to rest. They had not slept for the whole night, after all. Geris volunteered to go back to the Citadel with Lili. However, Lili was not quite ready to leave yet.

She rushed to stop Da'an from entering the quarters Kunik had provided for her.

"Da'an!" she called.

Da'an rolled her eyes. "What…do you want!"

"We have to talk about this," Lili said. "Even if you don't want to, I'm ready to talk about it. Why can't we bring this to an end?"

"Because there's nothing left," Da'an spat. "When are you going to get it?"

"You can't treat me like this," Lili said. "I know you, Da'an. I know you better than any other human, and I know you're hurting just as much as I am. This guilt is killing me, and your anger's making you suffer. I'm your friend. I've always been your friend. I want to all to end. I want to go back to the old days when we respected each other, when you and I could look at each other and see the two people we shared with each other. You are my best friend."

"You have an odd way of showing it," Da'an said.

"Why are you doing this?" Lili asked. "Does it make you feel good to see me in pain like this? For God's sake, Da'an, it was my daughter!"

"It was a child you recklessly chose to endanger!" Da'an shot back. "You knew that the baby was due any day, you knew that your blood could not handle Earth's atmosphere anymore, and you knew that there was a strong possibility the Synod would respond with prejudice to your return. You put that child in danger and then you force me to be your savior! So don't you dare sit there and pretend like you are Mother Teresa incarnate. Don't you sit there and use your daughter as a shield against your poor decision. You have no excuse!"

"I don't have to answer to you," Lili said letting her temper get to her.

"Oh, I beg to differ," Da'an said. "You told me that you desired to mend our alleged friendship. You can start by telling me why in the hell you picked me to be your lamb!"

"I didn't know Sandoval was going to kidnap you."

"Sha'bra, you didn't! The truth was that I was the only Taelon close enough to you to willingly and foolishly give his energy to save you and your child, and Sandoval knew that. You and Vorjak both knew that. You both knew, and you did nothing! Neither of you did anything to prevent this because you didn't care."

"Of course I didn't care! I needed energy from a Taelon. Any Taelon!"

"And if it just happened to be me, so much the better. I guess it sucked to me that day."

"If I could've stopped it, I would have. I was sick. I was delirious. All I cared about at that moment was my daughter," Lili said.

"You apparently were well enough to call Liam," Da'an said. "Oh yes. He told me about your quote-enquote 'desperate call for help.' You were well enough to ask Liam for help, but you weren't well enough to prevent Sandoval from capturing me. He burned me in my own energy shower! I was out of my mind in pain! I couldn't even think straight for hours! What if I had been too delirious to save myself when I did? What if I had truly died? You don't care."

Lili burst into tears.

"Damn you, Lili. I would have done anything for you," Da'an said. "You were my friend. I could feel your pain. I _wanted_ to help. I would have given my life to you and any child freely. All you had to do was ask. But instead, you chose to put me through all of that. You made my own decision for me. You exploited me."

"So what? You've done it too," Lili shot back trying to fight back her tears. "You used Boone, you used Sandoval, you used Liam—in fact, you've used everyone that was close you. How can you judge me! How can you judge me when you've done the same thing more than once!"

"Because I expected better from you," Da'an said. "You preach about how humanity is so much stronger than us morally and emotionally, and yet you reduce yourself to my level. You can't judge me by my actions and then go and do the same thing to me just because I've done it too. I may be hypocritical. I am the first to admit it. But I cannot use that as an excuse to let others get away with murder or whatever foolish decision they make. That's how people like Zo'or are created. That's how people take advantage of me. And I am tried of being taken advantage of. But I'm especially tired of being taken advantage of by people who are supposed to be my friends!"

Lili felt her legs go. She collapsed and broke down in tears. She had not felt so much pain since she cried the night she had returned with Ariel from Earth—when she thought Da'an had…

Da'an shuddered and turned towards the wall. She supported herself against it to prevent herself from following Lili to the floor. "I respected you. I cared for you. I'd never felt as close to anyone as I felt towards you. I always thought that if I had no one else in the world, I'd have you."

"I used to think that way too," Lili sobbed, "especially before I fell in love with Vorjak. The Jaridians used some kind of technology to make me think I was on Earth at a time when the Taelons were gone. Everyone was there except for you. I realized that one day, and I started crying because I thought that meant that I subconsciously hated you. But then I asked the Jaridians why you hadn't been in there. They said that it was just because you were a Taelon. Then, I started thinking of everything we had gone through together. I remembered how sweet and kind you had been to me. I remember how compassionate you were, and I wanted you to be there. And you weren't. Nobody I wanted to be there was there. I hated you for the same reason you hate me now. I hated you for not being there to help me. I hated myself for feeling that way about you. I almost went crazy, and then Vorjak took it all away."

"Stop it," Da'an said slowly.

"Don't you see? That's how I know why you're hurting now—because I've felt the same way. We've shared the same pain, the same sorrow, the same guilt, and the same anger. I loved you in a way that I've never loved anyone else in the world. I loved you more than a husband can love his wife. I still feel that connection, and I still feel you even now. That's why, despite everything we've been through, I don't want to give up on this. I don't want to end something so strong. Please tell me you feel the same way. Please tell me it's not just me."

Da'an collapsed. Lili heard the stifled sounds of sobbing and crawled over to hold Da'an.

"You're right," Da'an whimpered. "I would love that. I would love for things to be the same as they were before. I would love for us to just be able to look at each other to know what the other was thinking or feeling. I would love to share myself with you once again so that we can take away the other's pain."

Lili took Da'an's hand, and for a moment, it was that way. Suddenly, Da'an pried the hand free. "But it's never going to happen," she said standing. "I can't, Lili. I cannot put myself through that pain anymore. I cannot even take the risk. When you have something so wonderful and then shatter it at the drop of a hat, how can you expect to put it back together as if nothing went wrong? I never hurt as much as I did when you betrayed me, and I never want to hurt like that again. I don't like the way I feel anymore when I'm with you. It's gone, Lili. We're done. I'm sorry. All I want to do is move on, and the only way you will ever feel better about yourself is if you do so too."

Lili nodded and dried her tears. "I understand," she whimpered.

It took all of Da'an's strength to walk away.

"Will you at least meet me in the lab on the ninth floor to confront Vorjak?" Lili asked.

Da'an sighed. "I'll think about it."

"I'll wait for you," Lili said.

* * *

About an hour later, Da'an's rest was interrupted by the thunderous knocking outside. She groaned and rose from the bed. The persistent knocking continued until Da'an opened the door. Liam stormed in the room.

"Excuse me, but I believe the custom is for me to _allow_ you in," Da'an said closing the door.

"Lili told me everything," Liam said.

"She did?" Da'an said tonelessly. "I see she's found an alternative already."

"Why in the hell won't you let this go?" Liam asked. "My God, Da'an! The woman had a baby. She didn't blow up the Mothership!"

"She almost did…with me on it," Da'an replied.

Liam was stunned. "What?"

Da'an crashed back on the bed. "I never told anyone but Link. After Thompson declared a state of emergency, Zo'or had Sandoval arrest me under suspicion of resistance affiliations. He handcuffed me, took me to a cell with a volunteer escort, and probably would have tortured me at his and Zo'or's leisure. Then, I felt a loud rumbling, and the alarm said that the Mothership's engine core had overloaded. When I found out Lili had done it, I hated her. But after you came to me with your blatantly outspoken defense of Lili's actions, I realized that she might not have known I was on the Mothership. After all, _you_ hadn't. So I forgave her. That was the first time it shattered, but I was weak. And my punishment was that I let her do it to me again, this time for a baby."

"Da'an," Liam panted. "I am so sorry. I never knew. If I had known—"

"The first time it was for the greater good of humanity, and the second time it was for her daughter," Da'an continued. "I can respect both of those motives, and I probably would have done something similar in the same situation. But I would not have exploited her for that. I would not sacrifice the lives of hundreds of allies and the lives of my best friends for anything. I have enough trouble living with myself knowing that I betrayed you."

"I never would have treated you like that," Liam finished. "Did you tell Lili?"

"Why? So that she can feel worse than she already feels?" Da'an asked solemnly. "We had something celestial, Liam. We had something eternal. It was stronger than the bond you and I will ever have. I don't think my bond with Link is even as strong. She lost it once, and I lost it twice. That is why I cannot put myself through it again. I am drained, Liam. I have washed my hands of that woman. I cannot risk hurting myself with this friendship or worse…hurting her. We had something wonderful, and it's gone. I have accepted it, and with time she will accept it. And she will feel stronger for doing so too."

Liam took Da'an's hand. "You shouldn't give up on a friendship that strong."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: At the Last Second, I…

Lili returned several hours later with Geris. At the entrance, they went their separate ways. She ran to the lab to find Vorjak sitting alone with his face buried in his hands.

"Vorjak, we need to talk," Lili said firmly.

The Jaridian keeled over and started groaning. Lili tried to resist, but a part of her still loved him, she realized. She tried to control her body, but somehow she found herself next to him holding him close.

"There's nothing left, Lillian," he told her. "You taught me to hope again, and I've betrayed you by losing it. You are our last resort."

"Oh, Vorjak," Lili whispered.

She never even heard the doors slam.

* * *

The alarms blared all throughout the Citadel when the attack commenced. The Taelons had secretly taken over the fighters during the recall. Ta'lay and four other Taelons remained to care for the wounded. Link and Liam led the group of humans when the attack commenced. The Jaridian rebel spies sealed all exits from the building before any of the generals could get out. Geris and Balvak hauled them into their own meeting room and kept them there with the peace corps. But one of the generals was missing. Da'an and Renee had journeyed back to the building well before the twenty-four-hour waiting period had ceased however, and were now in search of Vorjak. Renee took the top half of the building while Da'an took the bottom half. She had just reached the seventh floor when Lili's words hit her. She ran up the stairs as fast as she could through the deserted building and came to a dark, sealed off area. Da'an used her pistol to short out the shields and slowly walked inside.

Vorjak was with three other scientists, smiling. "Come in Da'an. I was just expecting you."

"It is over, Vorjak. You are to accompany me to the council room," Da'an told him.

"But don't you see, Da'an?" Vorjak said in a voice full of ecstasy. "We've done it."

"Done what?"

"We have created the perfect mother for the Jaridian solution," Vorjak said. "All this time it was right in front of us. We just had to deconstruct her, modify her DNA, and reconstruct her with the changes. We have a womb that will create the perfect Jaridian-human hybrid, free of the metabolical plague that is killing our people."

"What are you talking about?"

"When I was named as a high council member, I was placed in charge of a project. We were to create the perfect Jaridian-human hybrid," Vorjak explained, turning on the lights to display the whole of the room.

At the center were several large, green, crystallized tubes carrying unborn fetuses and strange, alien organs. In the back, there were a number of black cribs that had been sealed with what Da'an surmised to be dead Jaridian children. To the right were artificial wombs designed to carry the children as they developed. To the left were surgeon's tables where the unborn fetuses were removed from the mother's womb and put into the artificial womb.

"We started by using Jaridian females who volunteered," Vorjak said in a sick sense of glee. "Too many of them began to die, however, due to their fast metabolisms. The babies died unborn inside of them."

Da'an blushed. "Then those organs in the tubes…"

"Belong to the ones who died, yes," Vorjak said. "It was essential that we preserve and analyze the parts to continue. Then, one of our spies returned to us from your capture, telling us about humans and how similar we were to them. The high council immediately struck an alliance with Ronald Sandoval to send us human females. That was when I met Lili. She was supposed to be our savior. When she birthed Ariel…I thought that all our problems were solved. Instead, Ariel's metabolism was no different than ours. She was too Jaridian and not human enough. We had to find a new solution."

"Da'an…can you hear me?" a voice on the radio asked.

"After many attempts, we perfected the Jaridian-human hybrid DNA formula, but the fetuses were still dying in their mother's wombs, taking the mothers with them. We tried using artificial wombs, but we could never get the conditions just right. We were at our last leg when Lili came to me. She rekindled my hope once again, and we have finally succeeded."

"This is disgusting," Da'an shuddered.

"Disgusting?" Vorjak laughed. "Da'an, we have performed a dream tonight. In mere hours, we have done what it took years to accomplish. We have created the perfect Jaridian-human mother for the perfect hybrid—"

"Stop saying 'perfect,'" Da'an snapped. "This is not perfection. This is abomination. You are obsessed and insane. This is not science. This is playing with people's lives. This is playing God."

"Da'an, please respond."

"Don't judge her, Da'an," Vorjak said. "Don't judge her until you see her."

"I do not want to see her!" Da'an shot back. "I do not want to see anymore of this madness. I am taking you in and shutting this place down."

"You and I are not so unalike, Da'an," Vorjak said. "It is very fitting that you see her. When you do, you will understand."

Da'an opened her channel to Renee's frequency in an instinctual reaction. "I need immediate assistance in lab three on the thirtieth floor."

The three scientists pulled a stretcher in front of Da'an with a disgustingly miserable creature groaning in pain. A small, black hospital gown had been placed over its body in a vain attempt to clothe the creature. Da'an could still discern the features from the outline it left under the thin cloth and from the exposed parts. Its body was writhed with scales like a Jaridian and misshaped human flesh. The face could barely be called human or Jaridian, and its belly was infected with surgical scars and scales. It was completely disproportioned with an abnormally large belly, arms that had been shortened, and legs unequal in length. It appeared that the scientists' only focus had been on the womb. It groaned in unbelievable pain and turned on its stomach. That was when it stared at Da'an. The miserable creature appeared to recognize Da'an immediately. Da'an probably would have turned away in disgust, but she was stuck on those eyes. Where did she know those eyes?

"Da'an," it croaked weakly.

Da'an felt her body freeze in terror. It couldn't be! It was not possible! They had just talked! Da'an could not find it in her heart to say anything. It was only pure instinct that caused her to scream.

* * *

The Taelons were doing well in the air, but humans were still going down too quickly. The air support just wasn't enough to stop the resistance.

"We can't take much more of this!" a human ground soldier told Mi'en on the comm.

"Just hold out a little longer," Mi'en said. "The rebel reinforcements are almost here."

"We can't!" the man cried.

"There's too many of them!" a Taelon cried.

Suddenly, a barrage of Taelon warships and fighters suddenly rained from the sky. They surrounded the facility and began destroying the Jaridian soldiers.

"Sorry we're late!" a young male's voice cried. "At least we didn't miss the party."

"Tay'jay!" cried Mi'en. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, Da'an sent a messenger to me a couple of days ago," Tay'jay said. "She said you could use some help."

"Thank Da'an everyone," Mi'en said humorously over the communicator.

"All right!" a human yelled.

"Let's do this!" Liam cried.

With the Espelon fighters, there was no trouble forcing the soldiers back before the rebels arrived. Soon the battle would be over, but beforehand, Tay'jay opened a hail to Liam's frequency.

"Liam Kincaid here."

"So you're the crazy son-of-a-bitch who manipulated my sister against her own species," Tay'jay said. "I imagined you'd sound older."

"Same to you. Are you Tay'jay Amo'qui?"

"You said it. Now where's my sister?"

"She's helping Renee look for a runaway Jaridian general," Liam said. "I'll contact Renee."

"Liam!" Renee's voice cried. "Get your ass up here now! Da'an opened her channel and called for assistance, and then I heard a scream!"

"What the hell's going on down there?" Tay'jay asked.

"I'm on my way, Renee," Liam said, ignoring Tay'jay's question. He replaced his radio with his tracker and ran to converge on Da'an's signal.

* * *

Da'an felt every part of her body churn as she broke into hard sobs. "You…You…and your infernal scientists!"

"Why are you getting so upset, Da'an?" Vorjak said with a maniacal smile. "After all, isn't this what you wanted? Didn't you want her to suffer?"

"No. No," Da'an whimpered. "I never wanted…"

"Science has given you what you always wanted Da'an," Vorjak said. "Science has given us both what we always desired. You hated her. You couldn't stand her. You wanted her to suffer for what she did to you. I wanted her to birth our Jaridian solution. It was why I fell in love with her."

"You…fell in love with her…for her womb!" Da'an wheezed. She could barely breathe the pain was so immense.

"She looked the most beautiful to me when she carried our child. All that work, all that effort for a beautiful little Jaridian solution—all of it wasted because of you!"

"Shut…up," Da'an panted.

"With nowhere else to turn, science always finds a solution," Vorjak said. "Is that not what you and your species believe? Pure logic can solve any problem. The method of producing a child is broken down into a mere scientific formula. That's what you did when you tried creating a Taelon-human hybrid. You broke producing a Taelon-human hybrid down to its essential ingredients: DNA, a fetus, and a womb. Then, grew the children in human wombs and harvested the fetuses using interdimensional technology. To hell with the consequences inflicted on the human women. This is no different than what you did to countless human women. The only difference is that we were dignified enough to risk ourselves before innocent women of another species. You did what you did for survival. That was all you cared about. You recklessly destroyed human lives for survival, and now you have exploited your best friend."

"I am not like you," Da'an whimpered with her head buried in her hands.

"Face it, Da'an. You are a disease. You infect and destroy everything you touch. You infected my daughter, you've destroyed every friend you ever had—in fact, I don't know if you've ever done one good thing for one person."

Liam and Renee had been running up and down stairs to find the lab room and Da'an. Both were panting hard from the long trek.

"Da'an!" Liam panted. "Where's—Oh my God! Is that…?"

Renee took one look at what was supposed to be Lili and felt her stomach turn upside down. She was coughing, gagging, covering her mouth—doing anything she could to keep from vomiting.

"Lili!" Da'an squeaked.

"What did you do to her?" Liam asked Vorjak instinctively pointing his gun at him.

"I've made her beautiful," Vorjak said. "Don't you see it? Lili will be the savior of our species. With her womb, we will repopulate the Jaridian species with a race of new and improved Jaridian soldiers. Our mothers will be strong enough to maintain their metabolism for their children. This is a revolution, Da'an! A cleansing!"

"No!" Da'an cried. The tanks in the lab room ignited in flames, the surgeon's tables crumbled from beneath their legs and were tossed into the back of the room. The artificial wombs exploded into flames and organic debris. The cribs carrying dead babies smashed into the burning tanks.

Liam grabbed Da'an before she could collapse from the pain. The flames subsided and the explosions stopped. The lab technicians attempted to run, but Renee stopped them by holding a grenade in front of them. "Do…not…move!" she panted very slowly with a tremble of rage and disgust.

"Why, Vorjak?" Liam asked tonelessly. "She was your wife. She loved you and gave you a beautiful daughter."

"Don't you see?" Vorjak said. "That's precisely why I did it. I did it because I loved her. She was the one who taught me to hope, but I lost it. So I modified her so that I could hope again. She gave me back my hope and I lost it, and now I have it back again. That's what makes you and me so much alike Da'an. When we lose our hope, we modify the ones we love so that we can hope again. You modified humanity in your Taelon experiments to bring hope to your species. But when that didn't work, you went so far as to modify yourself. Now, you want to modify your entire species just to hope again. You and I will go through any lengths to hope, even if we must sacrifice the one who does."

"You're wrong!" Da'an outburst. "You are dead wrong! I am nothing like you! You sadistic, conniving, insane megalomaniac!" A flame appeared from Da'an's hand and was ready to incinerate Vorjak when Liam forced it down.

"Don't do it, Da'an," Liam said, struggling to restrain his companion. "That's what he wants." Liam had brought asked for four soldiers to volunteer to help him. The fighting outside delayed their arrival, but they came just in time to see Da'an's enflamed hand. One of the humans gagged when he saw Lili, turned around, and vomited. Liam grabbed the grinning Vorjak and forced him into the other three. "Cuff him! And tape his hands together!"

One of the Jaridians did better and put a gun to his head. When the soldier recovered, the rest held the technicians at gunpoint as well.

Da'an reached out and took Lili's deformed hand. "Oh Lili. I'm so sorry."

"I'm…sorry too," Lili croaked weakly.

Da'an could feel her pain as she wheezed in pain.

"It's all right, Da'an," she told her. "I want…to die."

Da'an pulled out a gun and held it over Lili's head.

Renee turned her head to keep from looking. Even after all she had seen as a resistance fighter, this was too much for her to bear. Liam felt his stomach churn and had to turn away as well. He couldn't watch his friend kill one equally as special to him.

Da'an tried to squeeze the trigger, but she found herself frozen in fear and pain. Even though she wanted to help her, Da'an was too weak to pull the trigger. "I can't," she wept. "I can't do it."

Liam had to clog his tear ducts with his fingers to summon the courage to turn around and say what he knew Da'an needed to hear. "It's all right, Da'an," Liam said placing his hands over her shoulders. "You don't have to. I'll do it."

Da'an dropped the gun, and Liam pulled out his own. She dropped to her knees and stared into Lili's eyes. She realized that Lili was staring right at her. There was a gun pointed at her head, and all she was looking at was Da'an. All she could see was Da'an! Da'an could feel her thoughts and her emotions in that last moment. She understood then that only she could rid Lili of her pain. Only she was meant to free Lili from her pain.

Liam was only seconds away from pulling the trigger.

"Da'an, take…c-care…of my daughter," Lili told her.

"Look away Da'an," Liam said. "You too, Lili."

But Da'an leapt to her feet and grabbed the pistol. After one short and tearful look, she began firing round after round into her friend. There was not one person in the room who did not wince after each shot. Renee looked up to heaven in a vain attempt to find comfort. Liam was so stunned and shocked that he became paralyzed. All the feeling in his body and all movement ceased as he watched Da'an fire round after round into the thing that had once been his friend. Even after the carcass stopped moving, she fired. Even after the gun ran out of charges, she fired.

All the feeling came back to Liam in the form of a short breath. He turned his head to Da'an's hands to see she was just as stunned as he was. He slowly reached and pulled the gun from her hands. They were still in a position to fire, and Lili's blood had stained her arms and face. There was a long moment of silence as they all watched the corpse, which had been dismembered beyond recognition, and Da'an, trying to discern some sort of feeling or action out of this tragedy. The silence was broken by the sound of an empty pistol dropping and the muffled sounds of Da'an crying in Liam's arms.

* * *

Epilogue: …Cry

The civil war ended four hours later. A funeral procession was held for Lili two days later where her body was cremated. Vorjak was court-martialed and sentenced to die, but they all knew whatever death he received was too good for him and that it would not be received soon enough. Da'an took the baby and Lili's ashes back to Earth, where a second, private funeral procession was held. Only fourteen people went, Da'an and Liam included. Renee, Street, and Link watched the scattering of Lili's ashes into the winds from afar. Tay'jay's Espelons moved into the ANA headquarters. The number of aliens on the side of the humans was now 1200.

At Lili's funeral on Earth, Da'an watched with Ariel cradled in her arms with absolutely no emotion. The ones by her side said she looked like she was waiting for someone or something. Long after the minister left with the urn, the gun salute, and Lili's loved ones left, Da'an and Ariel stood together, and they both looked at each other.

And they both began to cry.

The End


End file.
